Man fired after wrestling shark from swimmers

Charity canned man after seeing video of heroic act, reports say

A man hailed as a hero after video surfaced on the Internet showing him wrestling a shark away from a group of swimmers is looking for a new job, according to reports.

Paul Mashallsea was on vacation in Australia in January when he heard the screams of beachgoers. The shark was then spotted nearby, Marshallsea told local media.

Video posted on YouTube shows Marshallsea running into the water and grabbing the shark by its tail.

Marshallsea dragged the shark into deeper water, away from the swimmers.However, when Marshallsea returned home to Wales, he learned of unpleasant news -- he'd been fired from the charity where he worked.

The charity, Pant and Dowlais Boy & Girls Club, sent Mashallsea a letter, saying he had lied about being on sick leave, according to Wales Online.

"Whilst unfit to work you were well enough to travel to Australia," the letter read."You allegedly grabbed a shark by the tail and narrowly missed being bitten by quickly jumping out of the way."

Marshallsea and his wife said they had worked for the charity for decades and they were disgusted by the charity's reaction.

"If I hadn't gone in to save the kids on that beach that day my wife and I would still have a job," Marshallsea told Wales Online. "You think being in charge and running a children's charity, they would have tapped me on the back."

Marshallsea said he'd been on leave since April because his job had become very stressful.

He told reporters that he had traveled to Australia on his doctor's advice.

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